Terminology aside, I am very much considering the whole picture.  Productivity gains are easiest to measure economically, but what it boils down to is quality of life, just as I mentioned in my post (and you failed to address in your argument).

That companies are reaching record profits is a good sign.  It means productivity is making big gains.  It also means there is an increasing space for competitors to move in and compete on price, to the benefit of consumers.  In part, but far from only, these profits are achieved through a shift of manual labor to developing nations.  This shift also brings with it a tremendous opportunity for these developing nations, their unemployment is lowered and their economies (and by extension their quality of life) grow.

Wealth is not merely being shared across the world due to globalization, it grand total is increased.  Trade is not a zero-sum game.

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Ideals are the ultimate motivators. But also the greatest causes of destruction.

A tip: Don't get too high on your ideals.

  P.

"In such an environment it is not surprising that the ills of technology should seem curable only through the application of more technology..." John W Aldridge